Temperature registering equipment



y 1935- w. K. DAVIDSON 2,008,947

TEMPERATURE REGISTERING EQUIPMENT Original Filed March 9. 1931 UNITED STATES rior thereof.

Patented July 23, 1935 LPATENTOFFICE TEMPERATURE REGISTERING EQUIPMENT Wayne K. Davidson, Montreal. Quebec. Canada Refiled for abandoned application Serial N0.

521,269, March 9, 1931. This application-September 1, 1933, Serial No. 687,762. In Canada September 16, 1931 2 Claims.

This application relates to temperature registering equipment and more particularly to that type of equipment for visibly recording temperatures of an interior compartment from the exte- It is refiled for abandoned application filed March 9, 1931, Serial Number 521,269.

One of the primary objects of the invention is' to provide a unique and simple exterior temperature registering device and mounting for refrigerator cars and the like.

Another object is to provide a unique means of mounting the said equipment. I 'Still another object is to provide temperature registering equipment that is extremely simple in construction and permits speedy mounting on and in a refrigerator car.

Still another object is to provide temperature registering equipment that will withstand the abuse attendant it being attached to roughly handled refrigerator cars.

Heretofore railroad companies have been subjected to severe losses due to the spoilage of shipments requiring maintenance of given temperatures within refrigerator cars. In some instances the shipments freeze and in other instances the shipments spoil due to high temperatures within said car. Refrigerator cars is a misnomer for that equipment used today for the transport of perishable merchandise as the cars so styled are either iced or are equipped in the winter time with heaters, depending on the kind of product shipped in them. If potatoes or fruit are to be shipped in the winter time, a heater is employed to prevent the potatoes or fruit from becoming frozen; if meat is shipped in the winter time, ice is employed to prevent the meat from spoiling. However, in either event, a certain temperature is necessary to prevent rapid deterioration of the shipment.

Up to the present, the only means employed by the railroad companies to check the temperature of the car is manual consisting of opening the trap in the top of the car and inserting a thermometer thereinto. In many instances the thermometer is inserted only two or three feet within the car and thus a mean reading of the temperature of the car cannot be taken. The time consumed in climbing to the top of the car to the points where the temperature reading is taken costs the railroad companies approximately three or four times that necessary in the event the reading be taken from the exterior of the car in the manner disclosed in applicants application, and the expense attendant can be cut proportionately by installing applicants device.

The invention can best be understood by referring to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of a standard refrigerator car showing the positions of two temperature registeringdials on the exterior of said car.

Fig. .2 is a fragmentary cross section of a refrigerator car with my device'installed therein.

Fig. 3 is a plan view ofthe visual temperature indicating device mounted in a novel fixture.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the temperature indicating device disclosing the novel mounting means.

. Fig. .5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the casing and visual reading 'meter on the line 5-5, Fig.3.

In the drawing, the numeral .l indicates the casing in-which the meter 2 is mounted. The said casing is formed of sheet metal material, the open side of which is inclosed by a hinged cover 3. In the forming. of the casing l?, the edges of the open side are flanged so as to permit the said casing to be inserted in an aperture in the side of a refrigerator car in the manner disclosed in Fig. 2. Screws passing through apertures of the flange so formed, hereinafter designated by the numeral 4, fix said casing firmly to the car so that the whole device is mounted flush with the sides thereof. Straps 5 are fixed to the inner and bottom wall of said casing by riveting or other similar means, and the inner ends of said straps are bent upwardly in a manner as to permit insertion of a meter 2 between them. Cork, felt or other insulation material is positioned between the outer casing of the said meter and the strap as at 6 and in this manner the delicate meter is suspended within said casing. A felt or cork packing similar in conformation to the fiat bottom side of said meter is positioned between the meter and the base of the case so as to suspend said meter from the said base. The above described suspension means prevents transmission of the jar and shock attendant the travel of the car over rough trackage.

A fixed cover plate 1 is fixed over the mounted meter, the said cover being fastened to the flange of the casing I by the medium of screws 8. The said cover is apertured as at 9 so that a visual reading can be taken from the dial portion of the meter 2. Insulation material is placed between the said plate and the meter so as to prevent shock from being transmitted from the said plate to said meter. A lock I0 is provided to prevent theft of the meter from the case. This lock acts to lock the plate 1 onto the case I.

It is not thought necessary to describe the meter in detail as it is of standard design and utilizes a Bourdon tube to actuate the temperature indicating finger. Attached to the said Bourdon tube and extending through the meter casing is a hollow flexible tube I l which extends through the side of the car onto the interior thereof, and is then bent and extended to within a foot of the top of the car as indicated in' Fig. 2. Gas is inclosed within the said tube and as the temperature within the car rises and falls, the gas expands or contracts and .the'pressurevincrease or decrease is transmitted to the Bourdon tube which, in turn, actuates the indicating finger and in this manner the temperature within said car is registered on the dial on the meternon the exterior of the car. 1

In positioning the meter and pressure tube on and within the car, it is only necessary to cut a hole in the side of the car, drill a hole in the due to freight being dumped against the side on which the tube is mounted.

, It is to be noted in Fig. 2 that the meter is mounted on the exterior ofsaid car in a position so that when the expansion tube is brought into the interior of the said car, the lowermost portion of it will be about a foot from the bottom floor thereof. Thus the meantemperature of the car will be registered as the temperature at the top and the temperature at the bottom of said car will act upon said tube, causing a mean reading to be had on the meter.

A record card holder I2 is fixed on the interior of the closure plate 3 so that a record card can be inserted therein for readings taken at various junction points where the temperatures of the car are to be taken. It is further to be noted that the hinges in the cover 3 are provided with springs to maintain the cover in close position without rattling. Means may also be provided for locking the said cover in a closed position if desired.

Having described my invention, What I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A temperature indicating device comprising a casing, a temperature indicating meter suspended within said casing and insulated therefrom, said casing and meter being mounted on the exterior of a compartment, a meter actuating means connected to said meter and comprising a temperature expansible body passing through the wall to the interior of the compartment, the said actuating means extending from a point near the base of said compartment to near the top in the interior thereof to effect a mean temperature reading within the compartment.

2. A temperature indicating device comprising a casing, a temperature indicating meter suspended Within said casing and insulated therefrom, the said casing and meter being flush mounted in the side of. a refrigerator car, meter actuating means connected withsaid meter and comprising a temperature expansible body passing through the sides of the said car to the interior thereof, said meter actuating means being positioned within the car as to extend from a point near the base of the interior of said car to a point near the top thereof to effect a mean temperature reading within the compartment.

WAYNE K. DAVIDSON. 

